Trouble with Hamish

[ips]

Great news

[Sam&Maverick]

That’s great news CC and actually quite reassuring, I have a nearly 4 year old Lab with very mild elbow Dysplasia, at the moment the only treatment needed is very minimal exercise, just toileting for 4 weeks then slowly building up his exercise for another 4 weeks on the lead which we are just about to start. Must admit that I have let it lapse a couple times recently and let him off the lead for a few minutes but I need to stop that and continue with the advice offered.

[shamykebab]

Really pleased for your outcome, CC. I have a Lab bitch with HD (hip score 27:50). I knew something was up with her gait when she was 7 or 8 months old, but I wasn't expecting such a high score. Both joints are pretty awful radiographically. It hasn't stopped her working though and the only time I've noticed her shortened stride was when she took part in a friend's computerized gait analysis research a couple of years ago. She's almost 6yrs old, I keep her weight down and as muscled as possible, but I'm fully aware that her working lifespan may not be as long as she'd like it to be.

[CockerCanuck]

OK, here is another update. I am starting to get more optimistic. It has been three weeks since the Vet gave me the OK to start building him up again. I am doing so cautiously to let him build muscle, tendon and ligament strength slowly in the hip. From his point of view the biggest impact on his life is that he is now allowed to be loose in the house and he can socialize and play with the other dogs. He is very happy again and full of fun and mischief. It is nice to see him enjoying himself again. He is a very personable dog. He curls up his lips and "grins" whenever he greets both my wife and I. When he is very happy he also does a sort of sing song low growl. People unfamiliar with him often read these signals wrong.

I have been taking him for walks on leash three times a day and we are now up to half an hour on each walk. He is showing no signs of lameness and prances along he is so happy to be out. He turned a year this week and has just started cocking his leg. It gives me great pleasure when I see him choose to lift his good leg and carry his weight on the repaired one. He was kind of spooky the first week out but he is getting over it. He watches all flying birds with great interest.

On his walks I always take a dummy and get him to "fetch" from my hand and carry it at heel. I stop him regularly and walk ahead a bit and call him in with a nice sit for delivery. He really is a very easy dog to get along with

[ips]

All sounds good

[CockerCanuck]

Another update, all seems to be going well. I think there is little doubt now he will be retrieving waterfowl this fall. He is showing no lameness and very happy and active. I am no longer restricting his activity in any way. As soon as the ice left here and the water warmed up a bit the middle of May I stared swimming him 4-6 times a week. I just built it into his regular training regimen. I have a couple of heavier dummies with longer ropes on them I can really fling a looong way. We do more and longer water retrieves than is really necessary for training purposes just to build him up. It seems to be working as he is noticeably building up more mass and muscle in his hind quarters.


As far as his training goes; I think he would be ready to go tomorrow however there are always things to work on. His final delivery is at times a bit sloppy but we have three months to get that figured out before the first duck falls in September.

[Judy]

Fantastic, well done. As for niggles with delivery, I find the first time they drop a runner usually sorts that out, they quickly realise the truth of the old adage about a bird in the hand.

[CockerCanuck]

Fantastic, well done. As for niggles with delivery, I find the first time they drop a runner usually sorts that out, they quickly realise the truth of the old adage about a bird in the hand.

I agree Judy I have had many dogs who I could no get "perfect" delivery of dummies on as pups who ended up fine actually hunting. I guess because I have been training with this group of field trial retriever types my standards have gone up. I want him to return fast pass behind me on my right and go around me returning to sit at heel on my left holding the dummy. He is 90% there but often drops the dummy as he sits. I know I could fix this easily with force fetch training but I want to show the others in the group I can get similar results without it. (its all rather silly because I mostly hunt from a boat where he can't do this anyway). However I enjoy working with him and now I am retired I have the time to waste on frivolities.

[CockerCanuck]

I have an additional happy update on Hamish. He continues to do very well. By all appearances he is 100% sound and pain free and I have been working him hard as we count down the days to duck season in about a month. I continue to really like this dog and his nature and fully expect he is going to be a successful duck dog.

Before his surgery I was training with a group of local field trial gentlemen and he was doing well but all that was interrupted by the long 6 month recovery. The Vet gave the OK to "treat him like a normal dog" end of June. In the middle of July I was invited to join another retrieving group. These guys are not competitive handlers but "professional" duck guides (we would call them punters locally because they punt small duck skiffs through the marsh).

The area I live is blessed with major flyways and staging marshes that are close enough to Toronto, Buffalo NY, and Detroit that it has a long history of private duck clubs. Some of them are actually older than Canada as a country. They service wealthy sportsmen from both sides of "The Medicine Line" and employ local people as cooks, cleaners and guides. Of course the guide/punters most important tool is his dog. I am now training with a group of four of these guys and Hamish and I are really enjoying it. It is not hugely different from the competitive trial training but I like several aspects of it better. It tends to be a little more straightforward and less technical. They all have used e-collars in training but don't use them all the time and look to get the dogs off them as soon as possible (good public relations with their sports). We train 90% in water and what I really like is my dog is out of the truck 100% of the time. When you are paying your dues by shooting and throwing dummies for others you take your dog at heel and they are expected to quietly watch the other dogs work. (The trailers left their dog in truck until it was their turn to run).

All these guy's dogs are very good. All are Labs except one other Chessie. Not all of them are actually registered but they clearly know their job. As we wind down to duck season they are training every day. This is working wonders with Hamish and they have all been very complimentary about his progress over the last three weeks. His delivery is still poor, I am afraid I am going to have to force fetch him but as that means a break from this other training I am going to leave it until after the season. I have had him out in my duck boat a few times training and his delivery is perfect in the boat. He quickly learned to use the dog ramp and quite smartly returns to the boat with each retrieve. On land he is almost incorrigible about just dropping it near me.

Fingers crossed I am looking forward to a great first season with him and hopefully many more to come.

[crackerd]

Another great (and historical!) report, CC. The duck dog training sounds pretty neat, but it's more impressive to me that they're - that y'all - are at it training every day until...when?, next week's Sept. 1 early waterfowl season opener? Can you tell a little more about the training sessions? - length of time, length of marks (variable according to the training area, perhaps), what "diet" of marks the dogs get each day (as in how many?), and if you all are working on water blinds, too, with whistle commands. Also, do the outfitters ("punters") have other livelihoods, or is this a year-round, or at least season-round full-time occupation for them at the duck clubs and lodges? All in all, sounds aces - and was only enhanced for me by your descriptions of the retrievers' work as crucial to the punters' existence.

MG